Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy may have corresponded with me but I would very much welcome the details of those nursing homes. I will revert to him directly about that. I am holding twice weekly meetings with Nursing Homes Ireland and the HSE's national director leading on this with the specific aim of identifying any difficulties - be they in terms of PPE, testing and the like. I would be very happy to engage with the Deputy on that. Regarding when nursing home residents and staff and indeed many priority groups will be re-tested and the schedule for that, NPHET has asked the HSE to put in place a testing plan in that regard. I want to go back to nursing homes next week and be able to outline to them when they can expect further testing. I know a number of them are eager to do the testing themselves, which will further streamline the process rather than requiring the National Ambulance Service to go there, but I will engage directly with the Deputy about nursing homes.

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue of meat factories. As the Deputy knows, food production was deemed an essential service. It was also decided that where essential work cannot be carried out other than in a workplace setting such as in a meat plant, employers are required to have protocols in place for the protection of their employees. These protocols have been put in place. Examples could include things like protecting employee safety through the reduction of throughput rates at plants, the extension of operating hours and other safeguards such as the checking of temperatures of people entering plants, the provision of additional PPE, the use of Perspex screens and the provision of additional facilities to support physical distancing measures. Where cases of Covid-19 do arise, employers engage with the HSE. Typically, a local outbreak control team is set up. On foot of a number of clusters arising in meat plants, a national outbreak control team was established on Thursday, 7 May with further meetings planned. This group will oversee and co-ordinate the approach to Covid-19 outbreaks in meat plants in Ireland and as part of its output, it will issue guidance documents to all meat processing facilities.

The Deputy raises a very serious point. Approximately 250 veterinary and technical staff in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine are involved in supervising and regulating the operations of 56 slaughter plants and a large number of meat processing plants. I know that the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Creed, has had ongoing engagement with Meat Industry Ireland and that he met with it on 5 May. He acknowledged the efforts made to date but emphasised that the meat industry should proactively take any additional measures necessary to continue to mitigate the risk of Covid-19 for all workers. Regardless of whether it is an essential business or one that may open in the future, it has a very clear responsibility in terms of public health. Regardless of who is involved, what business he or she owns or how important it is deemed to be by society, NPHET and others issue public health guidance and it is the expectation that this guidance needs to be followed. The measures announced by the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the other day are very clear regarding the enforcement that can be taken if those measures are not in place.

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